Two Weeks Notice

Have you ever left a job and turned in your two weeks notice? I did that a few times. It actually felt liberating. There was suddenly no pressure at all. What are they going to do? Fire me? I'm leaving! I have another job waiting for me.

I keep thinking about the Feast of Trumpets, which is just two weeks away. I know I just wrote about it but I can't get it out of my head. Only now, with THIS two weeks notice, I am feeling LOTS  of pressure. Pressure to share the Gospel. And to pray.

This week I heard from a former youth group kid. I love it when that happens. They already know I'm going to ask them about Jesus. No pressure!

But our text conversation was different. This kid asked ME what I needed prayer for? What?!? That's MY job! Lol! But it felt so good knowing that someone was praying for me.

"Thank you so much for your prayers. I will pray for you as well. Maybe we could pray together soon."

This kind of thing should happen all of the time, but it doesn't. And quite honestly, that's what's wrong with this world. Not enough love for one another and not enough prayer for each other. I don't do either of those things enough.

Each night before falling asleep, I pray for whoever pops into my mind. Some are newcomers, some are permanent recipients of prayer in my life. But all get prayed for. And then , whenever possible, I let them know they HAVE been prayed for.

God tells us we should pray in private and not on the street corners. I get that. But the times we are living in right now are so uncertain....well, sometimes I think we need to know someone's praying for us. Know what I mean? 

We should let people know that we are praying for them and also let people know that we love them. Why?

Two weeks.

None of us knows the future. None of us knows for sure when Jesus might take us away from this mess of a world. Let us be remembered as someone who loved and who prayed.

What would you do if you found out that Jesus was coming for His church in just two weeks time? Wouldn't you do the same?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." - Ephesians 6:18

Pray and love. Seems pretty simple. Neither one costs anything but both could be priceless to someone who is in need.

Free Time

This story isn't about what you think it is. It's not about vacations or holiday time off. This story is about what you choose to do with the rest of your life. And the rest of eternity.

I watched a movie the other day entitled In Time starring Justin Timberlake. The image you see here is from that movie. Have you ever heard the phrase "time is money?" Well, that is REALLY the case in this movie.

Everybody has a readout on their forearm. It tells them how much time they have left before they die. And time literally is money as people have to give up some of their remaining time in order to buy things that they need.

"He required everyone - small and great, rich and poor, free and slave - to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark," - Revelation 13:16-17

The movie perfectly represented this Revelation 13 concept of buying and selling using time as money, dispensed via the human arm.

What would we do if we had that feature added to our lives? I bet that we would be much more cautious about spending money if it shortened our very lives to spend it. And if we woke up one morning and, looking at our arm, discovered we only had 12 hours remaining to live. Or five. How would we live it?

The phone companies make a big deal about selling us unlimited minutes. There actually IS a way for us to get unlimited minutes added onto our "life clocks." Repent of our sins, be baptized by the Holy Spirit and believe that Jesus is who He said He was - the Son of the Living God. He was crucified, died and was buried. But then He rose from the dead!

In effect, Jesus freely gave us HIS minutes. Eternal life.

"And this is the way to have eternal life - to know you (God), the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth." - John 17:3

Time . . . is . . . running . . . out.

In Time Trailer

I, Robot

An interesting string of events has led me to write this morning's story. First, the local channels feature on our DirecTV have stopped working. And lastly, I prayed, sang worship songs in my head, and quoted Bibles verses until I fell back asleep early this morning.

I'll keep this as brief as I can. I spent most of the day yesterday trying to get our local channels back. They disappeared on Friday. I don't really miss them but my wife sure does. I was on the phone with tech support, staring at "the guide" for our satellite dish, and trying all sorts of things to get those channels back. Checking connections, cutting limbs off trees to make sure we had "a clear view f the southern sky."

While staring longingly at "the guide" I kept noticing the movie I, Robot. Hence the title of today's post. Perhaps I should have called this story I, Idolater instead. Let me explain.

I spent hours trying to figure the missing channel thing out. HOURS. Do I spend that much time reading my Bible? In prayer? At worship? No. Why not? That's just "too much time." But I have enough time to devote to an electronic device?

Isn't that idolatry? Worshipping something more than God?

So I started an investigation, just like I, Robot's Will Smith, and guess what? I AM an idolater! Actually, we probably ALL are.

Time spent on our phones, on the computer, in front of the television set, that all adds up to hours of screen time. In fact, my wife and I got a data usage warning from the phone company yesterday. Too much time!!

That brings me to the time spent quietly singing hymns, praying and going through Bible verses in my head this morning. Do you know what that's called? That's called repentance. And this morning I am changed. But will it stick?

Last night already I had dismantled my phone. I even took the battery out!

I am reading the Book of Psalms right now. Perhaps that is where all the verses, prayers and praise came from. Those things don't usually get a prominent place in my daily life. That must change.

I don't want to be an idolater. Nobody should. So how do we change that? Verse 11 below has the answer.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

We were washed, sanctified and justified! By whom? Jesus! And by The Holy Spirit! God is worthy of our praise. Let's not forget to do that today. And let us devote more time to doing that. More so than anything else. Amen.

Time

None of us knows how much time we have left on this planet. Our time here could end tomorrow or 50 years from now. The main question we must ask ourselves is, if we only have a limited amount of time to live, how are we going to use the time we have?

A 17 year old kid was killed by a drunk driver near our house recently. In the same week a 92 year old woman near here went missing. She was eventually found, alive. The young die and the old live? We never know when it is our turn to go.

Each of us has a fixed amount of time in which to live. Me, I'm 65 years old. The average life expectancy for males in the United States is 78.74 years. That means, on average, I have a little over 13 years left. What am I going to do with that time?

My best friend has a lot on her plate. She has a full-time job, she's overseeing a construction job at her church, then, when she gets home at night, she and her husband are building a garage. PLUS, she ministers to several ladies in her church by donating her time. She's a busy lady! SPARE time is hard to come by.

We fill up our days with all kinds of things. We sit and watch TV, we take naps, we go for walks, we go shopping, we build tiny homes.  How will we be found spending our time when our TIME suddenly comes to an end?

There's an interesting question for you. What would YOU like to be found doing when you die? Me? I'd like to be found serving God. At the local food pantry perhaps. I'd like to be found loving others.

How about you? How would YOU answer that question?

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17

"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you." - Hosea 10:12

"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time." - Colossians 4:5

Time. Spend it well. Live each day as if it were your last because, one day, you will be right.

Time - Pink Floyd

The Games People Play

When I was in high school my friends and I would pass the time in study hall by playing paper football or battleship - two paper-based games whose sole purpose was to pass the time between classes. They were simple games. That's probably why I liked them. Nothing like the "games" some people play these days.

Everywhere you look, it seems, somebody is playing a game. It goes way beyond sitting around a lunchroom table with friends.  We carry games with us on our phones and computers. We play political games, business games, religious games and relationship games.

Watch the news tonight and see how many news stories are actually games people play to entertain or amuse themselves. Sex games, games with drugs, immigration games, nuclear weapons games, war games.

We also enjoy watching other people play games. Biggest Loser, The Bachelor, NFL, MJB, NBA and let's not forget Jeopardy! It's a multi-billion dollar business, this playing and watching of games.

There ARE some times we should NOT be playing games. Funerals for example, That would be bad. Taking a knee for our national anthem is another. Sometimes people want to play games when the rest of us don't. Seems like we always have to make a game out of everything.

There are not a lot of games in the Bible, but people did "cast lots" for things. That's a kind of game. People also "ran the race" and "fought the good fight."

"8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion. " - Joshua 18:6-10

Life is not a game, although some people treat is like one. Life should be about loving God and honoring Him by love others. Let's be clear, there are "winners" and "losers" in the Bible. They're called "the sheep and the goats." You don't want to be a goat.

Games People Play - Joe South

Time

The overarching theme from this past weekend seemed to be time. From days gone by to dreams and hope for the future. It all began Friday, experiencing tastes of past present and future. All at the same time.

My wife spent the day watching our granddaughter Emma. What better representation of hope for the future than a young child being held by her grandmother.

While my wife was doing that I was at a home show as part of a ministry group I'm in, offering "wholeness and hope for the future."

Saturday my wife and I traveled to Milwaukee to celebrate her dad's 91st birthday. All three of his daughters were there. Grandchildren were present as well. Then, while we were eating, an older grey-haired man kept walking by our table wearing a Pink Floyd tee shirt - probably a fan since his teens. Another representation of "time."

Then my wife and I met with a former pastor of mine to discuss future plans for a present ministry. Past, present and future all sitting at a table together.

Then, before we went to bed Saturday night, my wife and I set all of the clocks ahead an hour - a daylight savings time thing. It's more of a sleep deprivation thing if you ask me. Man thinking he can control time. Pfft.

Sunday morning my wife and I woke up, deprived of 60-minutes of our sleep. And why? Does it really matter? Then, as I dressed, I looked out the window. Our apple tree was shaking. Why? Because there was a partridge sitting in it, looking back at me.

My wife said, "I've never, ever seen that before and probably never will see it again. Yet another indicator of time.

We humans act like we are masters of time, yet we never seem to have enough of it. As I get ready to retire in three weeks the general perception is that I will have time to do whatever I want, but the vast majority of retirees say they are so busy they wonder how they ever got things done before they retired.

There is only one master of time and that is God. Time means nothing to Him.

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." - 2 Peter 3:8

As we watch the news tonight we might find ourselves thinking about the past and how much better things were back then. We might also wonder about the future. Is there any hope in the future if the news of today is a representation of the present? Scary. Yet there IS hope.

There is tremendous hope for those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus. God has promised that by doing that one thing we may have eternal life. Time will no longer matter to us. And if that is the case, and God cannot lie, then sign me up. Oh, wait. I already made my reservations. Have you?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

The future begins right now! Grab hold of it.

"The tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees." - Pink Floyd

Time - Pink Floyd

Does God Really Hear My Prayer?

One thing that always bothered me about believing in God was, "How does God hear ALL of our prayers?" I mean, there are millions of us praying each day, right? Sometimes multiple prayers per day! How could all those prayers possibly be heard, let alone answered? The answer is simple. Two words.

He's God.

That a rather simplistic answer but it IS the CORRECT answer and I would like to offer you an explanation for how God hears ALL prayers. The whole problem with our believing that God cannot possibly hear ALL of our prayers comes when we try to comprehend exactly who God is . . . in HUMAN terms. Big mistake.

God is WAY beyond anything we can imagine. He is not fully understandable. He is bigger and better than anything we can come up with in our finite little minds. His thoughts are deeper, His love is greater, His wisdom far surpasses the brightest minds of our time, or ANY time for that matter. Any attempt to describe God, like this one I am typing now, is futile. He is bigger, higher, deeper, farther than ANYTHING ever imagined or ever will be!

I saw an illustration recently used by someone trying to describe God and time. When I saw it, it made perfect sense. It perfectly depicted how we try to categorize God and place Him in a box so we can begin to handle Him in our lives. God is more than just stories in the Bible. He is WAY bigger than that!!

How do we think about time? How could God possibly have time to hear all of our prayers? Well, we know that there is stuff that has happened to us in the past. We know that things are going to happen to us in the future. Simplifying - there is a past and a future. Time, to us, is linear. It's basically a straight line. If you would draw a line from Adam to our anticipated future it would look like this.

That dot in the middle is us when we pray. It is also everyone else who prays at the same time WE do. So where is God when we are in that dot? He's everywhere! And "everywhere" is more than linear. God is also up, down and all around! During our prayer time God is also answering everyone else's prayers at the same time. He has all the time he needs because time means nothing to Him.

Seeing as we are limited in this medium to two dimensions, this is only a two dimensional illustration but it really functions in three dimensions

I know all this is confusing but let me give you one more illustration that will demonstrate once and for all how God not only hears our prayers but answers them as well.

If you take the illustration I just showed you . . . remove all the arrow heads and text, and zoom in a little bit, I can show you one more piece of evidence that God hears and answers prayer.

Do you see what I see? It's the answer to ALL of our prayers! God answered our prayers 2000 years ago on the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ in the cross is the answer to all of our prayers when we plead with God to save us from the coming wrath.

DO you see the little dot still there on the cross? That's where we SHOULD be - hanging on the cross for our sins. Yet God, in His mercy and grace answered our prayers before we even prayed them. By substituting His one and only son for us.

The next time you pray, remember that. Do we pray to God like we are the reason He sacrificed His Son? We should be crying tears of bitter anguish knowing that God gave up something so precious! But that's the beauty of God's plan.

The sacrifice of Jesus paid for our sins. But then God raised Jesus from the dead and restored Him to His rightful place on the throne. God has not lost anything! Except for the souls of those who refused to believe. Only those who have been called to repentance will be saved. AN answer to prayer. :)

"11 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." - 1 John 5:11-14

Bruce Almighty - Answering Prayers

Time Warp

I just watched the new Star Wars VII movie trailer. Cool. Harrison Ford was in it. Boy, has he changed over the years! Grey hair and wrinkles can never hide that cocky grin. Chewy looked good. Not a touch of grey! Can't tell about the wrinkles.

When I look in the mirror these days I too can see more wrinkles and grey hair than I used to. I still feel young inside but I will admit it takes a little more time to get from Point A to Point B. Why is that? Could it be that I am getting older? Nah.

I have some young friends who like to tease me about my age. They call me a dinosaur. They ask me what it was like to walk the earth when Jesus did. Funny. I don't really mind because I am indeed young at heart.

There are two things about getting old that I find incredibly useful, especially later in life - experience and wisdom. Experience comes naturally. As we get older we just naturally go through more "stuff." Simply by being "old" I know more stuff through my experiences. My 62 years of experience on this earth trumps the experience of most 19-20 year olds for example. It makes sense. Wisdom, on the other hand, is harder to come by.

I heard someone once say that "intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one on a cake." That's true. Wisdom can be very beneficial, especial when baking cakes! Correct, timely application of knowledge. Now THAT is wisdom.

Wisdom is usually something that comes slowly with age but it is possible to obtain wisdom without spending years and years to obtain it. Kind of a time warp for the wise. Pray for it.

"5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” - 1 Kings 3:5-14

Solomon asked and received. Have you asked God to give you wisdom? I'm not saying that you will be made wise like Solomon was but seek God in ALL things. If you do this, you can't help but become wise.

Star Wars - The Force Awakens (Trailer #2)

The Wisdom of Solomon - Moody Bible Story

Exclamation!

"19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” - John 20:19-29

I'm like Thomas in so many ways. It is easy for us to believe things when we see them with our own eyes. But to believe in a God we have never seen? That's a little more difficult. Yet, so many people do. Why is that?

Do you believe that what the Bible says is true? I do. Why? Because God revealed Himself to me in a sermon one Sunday morning. It was like the sermon was written just for me. That was when I fully believed. That was when I began reading the Bible with new interest, realizing that the things Jesus said, the things that God said through it's various writers were indeed true.

Do you believe that you will live forever? I do. Why? Because Jesus told me that I would in John 3:16.

"16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

If we truly believe that we will live forever with God on The New Earth (Rev 21) why don't we live like it? Why do we keep living and breathing in the things of this world? This place is ruled by Satan (Ephesians 2:2).

We're going to try a little exercise. Go back up to the story of Thomas's belief. Grab that exclamation point at the end of verse 29. Now tip it over on its side. We have a dot and a long line. If that line extended on forever, if that life represents our life in eternity, why do we live our lives as if we're still in the dot?

The death rate on this planet is 100%. We are all going to die here. But God has PROMISED US eternal life!! What an amazing gift! Our sins will be forgiven, despite our unworthiness and then we get to live forever with no pain, no suffering and surrounded with loving brothers and sisters, like King David, Noah, Moses, Ruth, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Let's live and think that way!! We should live life like an exclamation point, not a period.

I invite you to sing this worship song with me. Listen to the words and sing them loudly. Imagine singing them in heaven to Jesus. Think eternally and take His message"to all nations" . . . making disciples as we go.

Hosanna - Hillsong

Time

Time marches on they say. No matter what happens anywhere in the universe, time is always ticking by. Nothing can stop the constant, steady advance of time. Tick tock tick tock.

Yesterday was my dad's funeral. It seems like yesterday that I was just a kid, helping my dad and my grandpa put up hay on the farm. Being a kid, I got to stack the hay on the hay wagon as my dad and my grandpa tossed the bales on board. Gone are the days of living on the farm. Now, we just visit the farm. Any work done in the fields is done by somebody else. Where has all the time gone?

There were several people at the service yesterday who I hadn't seen in years. LOTS of years. The wife of my old Scout master, the parents of a childhood friend, and a kid I hadn't seen since she was three. She is now in her thirty's!

 Where does the time go!? We can remember so many different people and events from our childhoods as if they were yesterday, but in reality, they were ages ago.

Did you ever see the movie Somewhere In Time? In the movie a young writer goes back in time 100+ years to meet a woman he fell in love with in a present-day picture. What if we could travel back in time like that and meet people in their prime or meet relatives we've never even seen?

Yesterday as I looked out the front door of the funeral home, a big old house on the east side of town, I thought for a moment that I myself was somewhere back in time. The number of the stars on the flag flying out front seemed to be less, the cars flying by on the paved road out front were replaced in my mind by horse drawn carriages on a dirt road. I started thinking of all the people who were entering the funeral home in terms of who they had been rather than who they are today.

God can see all those things. God is what is known as omnipresent. He can be in all places at all time's. He has always been and He always will be. He was there when the world was formed, He will be there when it comes to an end. He has seen every birth and every death of all mankind. Think about that!

Probably the coolest thing that happened at my dad's funeral was performed by a dozen men I didn't even know - the local chapter of the VFW. My sister-in-law came into the main room and said, "You have GOT to see this!" So I went out into the lobby and there all these veterans, dressed in uniform, all gathered to pay tribute to my dad, a navy veteran.

One by one these men came and stood next to my father's casket and saluted him. Very moving. I found myself thinking about each of those men and the battles they had seen, the struggles in their lives, the joys. God knows all those things.

What would it be like to go back in time and see all those men in their prime. To see my dad in his prime! Yeah, that would be nice, but we can't do that. But God can.

He saw when you were born. And here's a tough one - he has already seen your death. He has already seen every one of your triumphs and mistakes. He has seen all of your sins yet He still loves you and wants you to be with Him in heaven one day. Despite all that, God has given you the option to choose whether you want that or not.

My father had many people attend his memorial service. Not all of them have chosen to believe in the God who gave them life. That's there choice . . . their option. Yet God sent His Son to die for them anyway.

Sometime in the future we all will get to meet Jesus. What will we look like? Will we be our old wrinkled selves? Or will time be gentle and will we appear before Him in our prime? Time . . . will tell.

Do you know Jesus? I pray that you do. Only by placing our faith in the One True God can we be assured of eternal life. You will get to see your grandparents again, your childhood friends. But most importantly, you will get to see Jesus, who loves you unconditionally and without end. His love transcends time. His love for you. We all will meet Him, somewhere in time.

"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD." - Jeremiah 23:24

Somewhere in Time Theme - John Barry and Roger Williams